This week, NBC Connecticut Investigates told you about a new kind of crime happening called “pig butchering” – where police say online predators overseas have lured investors here into fraudulent schemes – and they have lost thousands of dollars.
It turns out the same day our report was airing, police in another town made an arrest in what they call a similar case.
We originally profiled an East Windsor man in his 70s who said he fell victim to a pig butchering scheme, where he kept giving more and more money to an online trading platform that he lost access to.
This included him giving $70,000 cash to a courier who showed up at his home.
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We have now learned of a similar case just one town over, in South Windsor.
Police say they conducted a sting operation and arrested a 42-year-old Brooklyn, New York, man who was in town to pick up $20,000 in cash from a 90-year-old man.
Investigators explain pig butchering compounds operate in southeast Asia and based on what they have found in this South Windsor case, this fraud has similarities to the one in East Windsor.
South Windsor Police Lt. Mark Cleverdon said, “The dollar amount was almost similar, in a sense it was around $70,000 they were asking for over the period of time. Very similar in a sense that a courier arrived of an Asian descent to pick up that money. So certainly a lot of similarities that we were able to relate to this as to the one that you had previously spoken to that individual about.”
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Police said the South Windsor man also gave the alleged schemers $49,000 earlier this week.
Investigators add that if you think something like this has happened to you, contact local or state police immediately.
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Jordan Jones had 19 points in Central Connecticut State’s 86-67 win over Le Moyne on Wednesday in the Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
Jones also had five rebounds for the top-seeded Blue Devils (24-6). Jaelen McGlone added 18 points while going 7 of 11 (4 for 7 from 3-point range) while he also had five rebounds. Devin Haid had 14 points and shot 5 of 8 from the field and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. It was the 12th straight victory for the Blue Devils, who will play fourth-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in a semifinal on Saturday.
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Dwayne Koroma led the eighth-seeded Dolphins (9-23) in scoring, finishing with 24 points, seven rebounds and two steals. AJ Dancier added 15 points and seven rebounds for Le Moyne. Nate Fouts finished with 13 points and two steals.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
In 2024, Connecticut had both the highest price per gram of cannabis across four Northeast states and the lowest per capita sales according to a report from the Office of Legislative Research (OLR).
OLR’s report found price per gram data for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Of the four states, Connecticut cannabis was the most expensive per gram, at $10.62 in December. For the same month, cannabis cost $4.44 in Massachusetts. In New Jersey, the price per gram was $9.93 and $7.09 in Maine.
OLR also sought per gram pricing data from Rhode Island and Vermont, which did not have the data available, and New York, which did not respond to questions.
According to the data, Connecticut also had the lowest per capita sales of cannabis edibles in 2024, at $54.4o.
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It also had lower total sales than Maine, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. While Rhode Island had lower overall sales, its per capita sales were higher, at $84.59.
Among Northeast states that provided data, Massachusetts had both the highest total sales and the highest per capita sales in 2024. Massachusetts collected roughly $1.6 billion in cannabis sales during that time period.
OLR’s report looked at a variety of laws affecting the sale of cannabis, including for sales and marketing, potency limits, and for tax rates.
While all the states OLR reviewed had potency limits for the amount of THC in edibles, only Connecticut and Vermont set potency limits for flower products and concentrate products. Flower products make up the bulk of cannabis sales, both in Connecticut and in other states. In 2024, flower products accounted for roughly 45 percent of overall cannabis sales.
Of the states OLR reviewed, Connecticut is the only one with an excise tax on cannabis.
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Most people don’t think much about their basic utility services. Electricity, natural gas and water just show up – a testament to the tens of thousands of utility workers across our state and country who keep those services working night and day and regardless of the weather. It’s a hard job, but utility workers are tough.
To keep all these services functioning, utilities must continually invest in the critical infrastructure to ensure those systems work. If you don’t invest in that infrastructure, over time, these systems break down because they are out in the elements, or they simply become old and outdated. Across Connecticut, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) are doing this infrastructure maintenance daily to make sure the lights stay on.
Michael Monahan Credit: Michael Monahan
As a leader in the labor union which represents thousands of electrical workers in our state, let me assure you this work never stops to ensure reliable service for customers. But Connecticut may soon not be able to adequately invest in our water, gas and electric infrastructure. And without those investments, our state’s energy system will suffer, as will Connecticut’s utility workers.
This is because several utilities in Connecticut recently had their creditworthiness downgraded by rating agencies. Now, when those utilities go to borrow money from lenders so they can invest in maintaining their infrastructure, those borrowing costs will be higher. These utilities may be forced to forgo investments in their infrastructure because they cost too much, or utility customers are going to be forced to pay higher utility bills to compensate for those higher borrowing costs.
These credit downgrades occurred because the state’s utility regulators have created an uncertain environment that has thrown cold water on investment in our state’s energy system. Worse, unless regulators quickly step in to strengthen our utilities, more credit downgrades are on the horizon.
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And this problem is only going to grow – quickly. Connecticut has immediate needs for infrastructure investment. In the case of electricity, we are going to need more power as data centers and electric vehicles proliferate. We need a regulatory environment that protects customers and workers while allowing for continuous and long-term investments in the electric grid. These changes will allow us to meet the needs of tomorrow and to enhance the grid to be more resilient to severe weather.
We are already seeing the direct consequences of the actions which have been taken by leaders in Connecticut. Job growth in this critical sector is at risk, as we have seen our union brothers and sisters see more opportunities outside of Connecticut in neighboring states like Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. IBEW’s members are neighbors, coaches, volunteers, and active members of their communities in Connecticut. They shouldn’t be worried about whether their jobs are safe in the state they call home because of regulatory policies that have made their job security a riskier proposition.
A failure to improve regulatory certainty will continue to have a detrimental impact on Connecticut’s union workers and residents who rely on utility services. We hope immediate action will be taken to address this issue in Hartford to bring certainty back to Connecticut for the benefit of working men and women and Connecticut’s utility customers.
Mike Monahan is the vice president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), District 2, which covers the New England states.
